Hay! Don't Starve Your Horse!

In the many years I have been heavily involved in the horse world, I have noticed a very disturbing trend. Most horse owners simply do not feed their horses properly! And I have to say, at least here in the northeast, a good 80% or more are guilty. Most people look at their horse and see that their weight looks good and think they are feeding properly, but on the INSIDE something else entirely might be going on...

Just because your horse looks good on the outside doesn't mean he is eating properly.

What a Horse Is!!

Or, rather, how a horse's digestive system works. Your horse is a non-ruminant herbivore. Non-ruminant means the horse does not have a multi-compartmental tummy, like cows. As a matter of fact, a horse's stomach is very small in contrast to their body size and the whole of their digestive tract. They are also herbivores, as all horse owners (better) know! This means they do not eat meat! Or dairy! Or anything animal-based. Are they Vegan? Not exactly. They are forage feeders. They are also grazers. 

Horses differ from humans (and dogs, etc) in that they have a frontgut and a hindgut, and they both work differently to keep the digestion moving properly.

"The cow benefits by having the microbial breakdown of fibrous food at the start of the GIT (gastrointestinal tract) and nutrient absorption can then take place along the entire intestine. Dietary protein is not utilised efficiently because the microbial fermentation breaks down protein plus some carbohydrate. In the horse unlike in the ruminant the microbial fermentation occurs after the ‘monogastric’ like section rather than before. This has a great impact on how we should feed a horse and explains in part why the horse and cow differ so much in their nutritional efficiencies and requirements."

The Low-Down:

Basically what all this comes down to is that a horse eats little amounts very frequently. They have to! But, too many people have come to believe horses eat and digest like humans. Or their dog. Three squares a day and they're good, right? Wrong! 

ALL horses should have 24/7 access to a good quality forage. If your horse gets fat on grass, either exercise him/her more or feed part of the forage diet as a low-sugar hay. At the very least your horse should have in front of him hay 24 hours a day... always. 

"But then he over-eats and gets a hay belly, or fat." Nonsense. Horses that are on regular forage 24/7 with no lapse will always know the food will be there and will ONLY eat what their body requires (If you switch your horse from having a hay routine that includes no hay for quite some time before getting more, such as night in a stall when they can run out, then get none until morning, your horse, when given MORE hay, might eat like a pig the first two or three days, but once they realize that hay is going to always be there, you will find them not finishing their hay because they are listening to their body). You should adjust grain and exercise, NOT forage intake. Find a lower in sugar forage (hay tests are not all that expensive), but do NOT skimp. Horses digestive tracts are built to run 24/7 and they do not stop digesting, even when no food is there.

This is my horse, Kobeejo. He is 25 years old (2018), has insulin resistance, navicular and Cushings. He has regular bouts of winter laminitis and has foundered. Yet, look at him! And this is not an unusual photo... it is a couple years old, but he is the same now. This picture was taken 5 months after he foundered. He is energetic, in perfect physical condition and loves to gallop. Yes, he is still ridden. He gets low-NSC hay 24/7 all year; along with a ration balancer, his pills and supplements.  He has never been overweight and I have owned him for 15 years. His founder was due to a farrier error (yes, a farrier can mess up a horse's feet to the point where they founder). His winter laminitis is the swelling that occurs in his feet when the weather changes to cold. I started putting wraps on his legs when it's cold and he's been much better.

If you feed your horse hay at night, but not enough to last all night, and he runs out at, say, midnight, then gets no hay until 7 or 8am, your horse is literally starving for 7 or 8 hours. The result can mean ulcers and even colic. Also, when you do once again give hay, your horse's blood sugar level will rise up to 700% once they eat again. Even if your horse is not insulin resistant, this spike in blood sugar can cause the body to go into a mode similar to a "starvation" mode and they will tend to hold onto fat. Horses are made to graze... and they know what their body requires, so make sure you provide forage (preferably hay, as I mentioned above) ALL the time, because you do not want your horse to have an empty tummy. Instinct will tell them when to stop eating and when to start.

"When the horses’ stomach is empty the acid destroys the non protected squamous cells of the saccus caecus region of the stomach. This causes the stomach lining to ulcerate. Studies have shown that over 80% of thoroughbreds have some degree of stomach ulceration. Stomach ulcers can affect horse’s appetite, behaviour and performance. Feeding horses a higher proportion of roughage in their diet, small frequent meals and allow them ability to graze will dramatically reduce the frequency and severity of stomach ulcers."

Forage comes in many forms!

Or roughage as it is called in certain areas and circles. Forage for horses consists of hay, grass, and alfalfa (which is not technically a hay, but a legume). What you feed of each depends on the horse's age, health issues, and workload. If your horse is not overweight and has access to grass, that's pretty much all he needs (but be sure there is enough grass out there. I have seen people look out, see green, and assume it's edible grass, all the while their horses are losing weight because it's all weeds!)

"If your horse can’t spend all day grazing, do your best to prioritize forage and cut back on grain or pellets. Good-quality grass, hay and other roughage such as beet pulp can provide all of the essential nutrients a horse requires. If your horse is in heavy work or has a strenuous travel or competition schedule, you might consider supplementing his diet slightly with other feed. But even if you do add grain or pellets to his diet, plan to feed mostly roughage. And do it in a way that will help him derive the maximum benefit from it (small amounts 24 hours a day)."

RULE: Horses eat approximately 2% of their body weight in forage a day! For 1,000 pound horse, that is at least 20 lbs of forage a day. Get a hay weighing scale (luggage scales work great and are inexpensive). The portable kind is great for weighing hay in nets. 

Stop Killing Your Horse with Grain!

Unfortunately, many barns feed more grain when a horse needs to gain weight. But the truth is, you always raise the level of forage FIRST... add more hay, add alfalfa pellets or cubes (soaked), add beet pulp before raising grain amounts to ridiculous levels. If you do need to feed more grain, feed it out a little at a time and not in one or two big meals. Colic can result with too much grain in a single feeding.

"Make use of the host of tools at your disposal to make free-access forage possible for your horse. Use slow feeders such as the simple hay net in stalls, and even double nets up, to slow down munching and make flakes of hay last longer. Grazing muzzles can be helpful for easy-keepers to avoid overeating and associated problems without restricting turnout time. Other slow feeders, or simply putting a few large rocks in the feed tub, force horses to work a little harder for grain or beet pulp and spend longer over their meals." source

All too often, I see horses outside on pastures of green with nothing to eat! Just because it is green, does not mean there's enough edible forage for a horse. They won't eat weeds and other greens not good for them, unless they are starving. If the grass is 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch tall or shorter (grass, not weeds), your pasture is eaten down. A horse will still nibble and pick, which gives people the idea the animal is eating, when really they are... well, picking. Provide hay at ALL times. Then, they will go between eating hay and picking at grass. A nice well-rounded diet, which could save your horse's life.